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Dating in Recovery

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Thinking of starting your first intimate relationship post-drug or alcohol addiction? The right relationship can strengthen your alcohol and drug recovery. At the same time, dating the wrong person can push you towards relapse. Here are a few things to consider before you start a new relationship.

Build Positive Self-Care Habits First

While you take time to reflect on past dating habits, work on loving and caring for yourself. Loving another person in an intimate relationship starts with loving yourself. Build a foundation of self-love and positive self-care habits before you move on to your next relationship.

One of the biggest threats to a successful addiction recovery is stress. The passion of romance can be stressful, especially for those recovering from alcohol and drugs. Jumping into a new relationship before you master fulfilling your own emotional needs can lead to addiction relapse.

Ask yourself:

  • “Am I happy most days?”
  • “When I get upset, do I keep it in perspective?”
  • “Do I feel just as happy alone as I do with other people?”
  • “Am I excelling at work without feeling stressed out?”

If you can answer “YES!” to these questions, then it’s a good sign that you’re ready for a relationship.

Take Care of a Plant, Volunteer, Start a Project

Once you’ve taken care of your own happiness, try adding on some extra challenges. Taking care of a plant is a classic addiction-recovery cliche. If plants aren’t your thing, try taking on a volunteer project. This can be fulfilling in itself. If you can’t sacrifice a few hours every week to help others, do you really think you’re ready for an intimate relationship? Relationships are time-consuming and can present a lot of emotional challenges. Volunteering is a nice stepping stone.

Before you move on to a relationship, pick up a hobby or start a passion project. It will also help keep you sober and on track with your addiction recovery journey. When you start a new relationship, you’ll have less time to go around. You don’t want to feel like the relationship is preventing you from doing what you love. Once you’ve proven that you can donate time to others and dedicate time to your passions, it may be time to consider dating.

Recognizing Past Relationship Habits

As a recovering alcoholic or drug addicted individual, there’s a chance that you’ve developed some less-than-healthy relationship habits. Before you jump into a new intimate relationship post-addiction, it’s important to press pause and see if you can find any negative patterns that you’d rather not repeat.

Dating instincts are mostly subconscious. The relationship patterns you witnessed your parents engage in can have a significant impact on your dating habits as an adult. If you had parents who were addicted to alcohol or drugs, you might have absorbed some unhealthy dating tendencies. Relationships in the fog of addiction play out differently than when you’re dating with a clean brain and a clear head. By identifying negative patterns in past relationships, your next one will have a better chance of going well.

Avoiding Toxic People

It’s never time to start a new relationship with someone who isn’t emotionally healthy. When you feel like you’re ready, you need to be confident that your new partner will have a positive influence.

Negative interpersonal interactions have an adverse effect on mental health. How do you know that the person you’re interested in is healthy? Take a look at their life as a whole. Do they have a healthy social life? This looks different for every person. They don’t have to have a ton of friends, but they do need to be satisfied with the ones they have. Do they talk positively about life?

People tend to put there best foot forward in the early stages of a relationship. If you’ve only known someone for a few weeks and they’re already complaining, it’s not a good sign.

Start Slow, Love Can Be a Drug

There’s no reason to jump the gun. Take things slow. It can be easy to get too absorbed in your first relationship as a recovering addict. While you were using, you may have deprived yourself of close bonds and genuine emotional connections. Time was spent interacting casually, catching a buzz, and going about your day.

The authentic love of your first intimate relationship can be a drug in itself. In fact, love is a drug — oxytocin to be exact. Oxytocin is a hormone that acts on opioid receptors. It’s activated when you experience emotional and physical intimacy. Oxytocin is influential in the formation of social bonds. The desire to give yourself over to the satisfaction and relief that oxytocin provides can be powerful. Romance has the potential to distract you from your drug and/or alcohol recovery. Your affection should feel like a choice, not an addiction.

Communication is Key

Date someone who is an excellent communicator. Make sure that they’re open to answering questions about their past and answering difficult questions. As somebody working on your addiction recovery, you may have a tumultuous past. Dating someone who’s uncomfortable talking about it isn’t conducive to a healthy and positive addiction recovery. The person you date should be willing to discuss the impact that the relationship is having on your recovery.

Recovery needs to be your priority, and the person you date has to understand that. After all, if you relapse, it’s only a matter of time before the relationship becomes strained.

The High Stakes of Relationships in Recovery

You have to be ruthless with relationships in alcohol and drug recovery. The stakes are high. As your relationship grows, it can impact you in one of two ways. If communication is open and fearless, it can lead to success in recovery and make you a healthier person. If you or the other person doesn’t feel comfortable talking about the hard stuff, it will inevitably strain the relationship and your recovery.

By recognizing past relationship habits, avoiding toxic people, focusing on yourself first, and starting slowly, you can build a relationship that will strengthen your addiction recovery journey and bring joy into your life.

If you or anyone you love is seeking an individual counseling, intensive outpatient treatment program, or are just seeking more information, Stonewall Institute Treatment Center is glad to help. Please, give us a call today at (602) 535 6468 or email us at [email protected].

How to Carry Out a Substance Abuse Intervention

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How to Carry Out a Substance Abuse Intervention

More often than not, a loved one places an individual addicted to alcohol or drugs into an alcohol and drug treatment program without much of their consent. With this comes lots of consequence that too often isn’t considered. Due to the fact that the addicted individual doesn’t want to make the change for themselves, there’s too likely of a chance of drug and alcohol relapse.

The only way to assure that alcohol and drug treatment will work is when the individual wants the change for himself/herself. Without this desire, they lack the motivation to go down the rough (but rewarding) path of alcohol and drug recovery. Even though it can be very difficult to give someone this motivation, it is possible. And it’s possible through an intervention.

The purpose of intervention is to help these individuals realize their need for alcohol and drug treatment. This can be done solely through the emotional offering of loved ones.

The Confrontational

 

This is the most direct form of an alcohol or drug intervention one can find. Just as the name implies, it’s an encounter that involves changing the addict’s frame of mind. For some time, the confrontational intervention was done as a means of punishment. Everyone involved would point out the addict’s flaws and criticize until some kind of emotion came out. Punishment being viewed as a means of focus until the individual changed his or her ways.

Now, these flaws are viewed more as an illness. And instead of criticism, there is meant to be a sense of support in the confrontation. This is one of the most widely acclaimed methods of drug and alcohol intervention and generally the go-to for many supporters looking to change their loved one. It’s been studied that addicted individuals genuinely react better to a confrontation that remains positive rather than negative.

The reason for this is many don’t want to be blamed for their life decisions. Though some of this might occur, they’d rather feel optimism when coming out of the intervention. A positive point-of-view that their lives have a chance to change and flourish in any direction they can dream.

This is the desired outcome of a successful intervention. How to go about it will be different for different families and friends. However, there are a few aspects that remain the same.

  1. Make a note as to where the addicted individual has gone wrong (without placing blame).
  2. Inform them that you have strong hope for their potential.
  3. Offer alcohol and drug treatment options.
  4. Make sure they never forget the support you will always offer on their journey.

The Johnson Model

 

Though there are some relatable aspects of the confrontational intervention, the Johnson Model holds one distinct difference. The idea behind this kind of intervention is to highly educate loved ones and supporter of the addict’s situation. With this, it’s also important to bring to mind how the addict should be confronted and how to find him or her help.

The Johnson Model intervention generally requires multiple meetings as a way of digging into the individual’s frame of mind. Due to this, a drug and alcohol mental health professional is often ideal as they will know the direction in which to take the conversation. With a substance abuse professional and multiple interventions, there’s a likely chance that the addict will feel less of a need to defend themselves. And more of a desire to open up about their problem.

Tough Love

 

There are many instances where the loved ones of a drug and alcohol addict are too afraid to say no. With this kind of easy-going attitude, the addicted individual often gets him/herself further into a drug and alcohol addiction without feeling any sense of consequence. This is ideal for family members with the desperate desire to get the addict into alcohol and drug intensive inpatient and outpatient treatment, but who’s also unsure as to how to carry this out.

However, it should be noted that this is often a last resort intervention method. The reason being is that there are plenty of instances where the addict ends up feeling a backlash from those who care – as though he/she is being punished and blamed. Therefore, the addicted individual ends up pushing himself further away from loved ones and further into drug and alcohol addiction.

A trained substance use professional is highly suggested for the Tough Love method. Within the method, lots of threats will be made towards the addicted individual. These heavy threats need to be followed through if the addict doesn’t comply. If not, then there’s the sense that the loved one doesn’t really know what he/she is doing. An alcohol and drug counselor can guide these threats and reassure that they will be followed through on.

The purpose of Tough Love is to limit all resources you provide to the individual until alcohol and drug treatment is seriously considered. These resources can include money, around-the-house tasks, or even the shelter you’re providing.

With a substance use professional helping the loved one throughout this intervention, they can also help out the addicted individual. For the Tough Love method often leaves them feeling victimized and in a situation where no one is truly there for them. The professional alcohol and drug counselor may need to be the one there.

As you can see, this isn’t something most loved ones want to go through and should only be done as a last resort.

The Crisis

 

The purpose of this type of intervention is fairly obvious. It’s meant for individuals going through an emergency situation – in an example, someone who’s just overdosed. Though the height of the emergency holds importance to the decision, most of the time, alcohol and drug treatment is necessary as immediately as possible.

There’s a problem underlying the crisis that’s mentioned in the introduction. If the addicted individual doesn’t desire to enter alcohol and substance use treatment, then this immediacy may seem entirely useless. For these kinds of situations, you might want to get a substance abuse professional involved in the intervention itself. Professionals specializing in alcohol and drug use hold the capability of getting individuals evaluated for commitment.

As you will assume, there are still occasions where individuals aren’t in the right frame of mind to be entering alcohol and drug treatment. However, if he or she is in a position of harming themselves or others around them, force may be necessary. It’s not the ideal way to go about substance use treatment, but unfortunately, for some people, it’s absolutely necessary.

The reason being is addicted individuals are highly prone to mental disorders. With this comes a risk for suicide. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, ninety percent of suicide victims are mentally ill. As claimed by Helpguide, fifty percent of people who suffer from mental health abuse some kind of substance.

Still, the cause of a crisis goes beyond mental health. There are instances that will appear in anyone’s life that can throw them into a state of emergency – heavy financial problems, legal issues, homelessness, etc.

To top it off, the crisis could be stemming into other people’s lives rather than the addict’s. In an example, a pill-addicted mother may be ignorant towards her child.

The crisis intervention is without a doubt the most difficult kind to handle – crises are never expected. Therefore, gather together the necessary loved ones to have the intervention with may be very short notice and unplanned. With that, it is suggested you get an alcohol and drug counselor involved in setting up the dialogue of conversation. This will guarantee that what needs to be said will be conversed and the possibility of alcohol and drug treatment will be the dominant topic.

The ARISE Method

 

According to the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, the ARISE method works about eighty-three percent of the time. Patients who receive this form of alcohol and drug intervention often feel moved by it for an important reason. It incorporates both direct and indirect models of intervention.

As opposed to the confrontational or Tough Love method – in which an addicted individual is ridiculed for their behavior – the ARISE method seeks to solve the addiction problem. Involving both the loved ones and the addicted individual through both of their perspectives. The entire focus of the method is to create a better family, not a better individual.

Once the addicted individual agrees to go to alcohol and drug treatment, all loved ones involved in the intervention must experience a treatment of their own. Generally, it’s some form of counseling that teaches loved ones to manage their lives around the addict. With that, the loved ones will be expected to learn how to help their addict after treatment and how to cure any negative wounds produced by the drug and alcohol addiction.

Often, the ARISE method is planned in advance and has the potential to go through a couple of meetings. These interventions are meant to encourage addicted individuals while educating family members too.

Is an Intervention Right for You?

 

There are many occasions where addicted individuals don’t need an intervention to realize they need drug and alcohol treatment. Sometimes, it just hits them at the right moment of their lives. The necessity for a change becomes overwhelmingly dominant.

Yet, there remain plenty of cases where an addicted individual is in denial over the harm they are doing to others and themselves. And these are typically the addicted individuals that need an alcohol and drug intervention. There’s the common occurrence that an individual doesn’t even realize they have a problem with alcohol and/or drugs until somebody brings it up.

If you or anyone you love is seeking an intensive outpatient treatment program or are just seeking more information on interventions, Stonewall Institute Treatment Center is glad to help. Please, give us a call today at (602) 535 6468 or email us at [email protected].

Yoga in Recovery

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Yoga is known for its ability to reduce stress, but did you know that it can also help treat addiction? Several recent studies demonstrate that a regular yoga practice may help reduce addictive cravings. Yoga can provide a sense of fulfillment, well-being, and community. The meditation component of yoga together with its many physical benefits can make yoga the perfect addition to a comprehensive treatment program. The only way to know for sure is to give yoga a try and see for yourself. Here are six reasons why yoga might be exactly what your brain and body need during drug and alcohol recovery.

1. Reduce Cravings

The early stage of recovery is always the roughest period. Post-acute withdrawal syndrome from alcohol and drugs is never a pleasant experience. A little yoga can go a long way towards providing relief from cravings and calming a worried mind. Yoga induces a relaxing buzz similar to alcohol by increasing GABA.

GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain that’s responsible for turning down overactive brain chemistry. As your brain struggles to produce the neurotransmitters that alcohol used to provide, the neurotransmitter glutamate can become overactive. Increasing GABA with yoga can ease the compulsion to use.

2. Reduce Anxiety

Boosting GABA with yoga can do more than just reduce addictive cravings. According to a 2010 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, a single 60-minute session of yoga can boost GABA levels by as much as 27%. GABA is what anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax act on to treat symptoms. The “yoga glow” that devout yoga practitioners talk about is largely the result of elevated GABA in the brain. Yoga also releases feel-good endorphins that act on peripheral opiate receptors in the body.

3. Reduce Stress

People who frequently drink alcohol can have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol. In healthy individuals, cortisol is only released during emergencies as part of the ‘fight-or-flight’ response. People with anxiety, depression, and issues with alcohol addiction often have an overactive adrenal gland that produces too much cortisol. Chronically high cortisol levels can make anxiety and depression worse. When you’re stressed, you’re more likely to seek out drugs and alcohol as a way of escape. Studies show that yoga may act on the hypothalamus to reduce stress and lower cortisol production.

4. Yoga and Sleep

Difficulty sleeping can be one of the side effects of adjusting to sobriety. Over time, poor sleep can have a detrimental impact on mental health. Insomnia and other sleep disturbances can lead to worsening anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, and a weakened immune system. All of these things can make you more likely to go out and use. Yoga is proven to improve sleep and treat insomnia. Studies show that four to eight weeks of daily yoga can significantly improve sleep.

5. Pain Reduction

Chronic pain in your back, knees, neck, and head can make a prime excuse to reach for a drink. Yoga can help reduce the temptation to return to using by reducing chronic pain. Chronic joint inflammation is made worse by high cortisol levels. The cortisol-lowering power of yoga can help address pain issues. One study found that six months of regular yoga practice greatly reduced pain in individuals with chronic lower back pain.

Yoga can not only reduce pain on-site but can also reduce your perception of pain. In other words, yoga can increase your pain tolerance. Yoga accomplishes this by increasing levels of gray matter in the brain. High levels of gray matter are associated with pain modulation.

6. Find A Sense Of Community

One of the most challenging aspects of recovering from drug and alcohol addiction is needing to find new groups of healthy people to socialize with. Attending a regular yoga class can help you meet like-minded individuals. People who are into yoga tend to put a heavy emphasis on emotional, spiritual, and physical health, all the things that you should be striving for in drug and alcohol recovery. The yoga community can be a great addition to the bonds you form in group counseling and A.A. programs. Just because you have an issue with addiction doesn’t mean that it has to define you. It’s healthiest to make new friends both in A.A. meetings and in non-recovery related settings like yoga classes.

Finding Which Type of Yoga Is Right For You

Not everyone wants the intensity of a 90-minute hot Hatha session, while others may not have the core strength or joint mobility necessary for the poses done in Vinyasa. Luckily there are a wide variety of yoga styles to choose from no matter what your ability level or health goals.

Yoga is part exercise, part breathwork, and part meditation. Yoga styles vary dramatically. Some styles, like Vinyasa, involve a lot of movement, or “flow.” This style is more focused on improving coordination, strengthening the core, and balancing the muscles while getting diverse movement to the joints.

Other styles, like Hatha, are more meditative. In Hatha yoga, practitioners hold the poses for extended lengths of time with a heavier focus on breathing. Fighting to hold poses forces practitioners to synchronize their breathing with their movement and trains the brain to be less reactionary.

Deciding what you want to accomplish with your yoga practice will help you decide which types of classes to take. Yoga studios often specialize in certain styles, while others offer a wide variety of classes. Some studios are decorated with an aesthetic that promotes relaxation. Others are more geared toward the physical fitness crowd that uses yoga to recover from weightlifting and CrossFit workouts. Many studios offer restorative yoga classes, which for many people are a great place to start. Restorative yoga focuses on holding light poses for several minutes at a time so that you can focus on meditation and breathing.

Yoga can help treat addiction by reducing cravings, stress, anxiety, and depression. One of the ways GABA does this is by boosting levels of the neurotransmitter GABA in the brain. Yoga can also help you sleep more soundly, a component of health that is often ignored. The yoga community can be a great way to expand your circle of health-conscious friends.

If you or someone you know needs help recovering from addiction, the Stonewall Institute Treatment Center is more than happy to answer any questions you may have. Call us today at 602-535 6468 or email us at [email protected].

An Explanation to Dual Diagnosis

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An Explanation to Dual Diagnosis

Around twenty years ago, dual diagnoses began to see light. The simple definition for one is when a drug or alcohol addiction co-occurring with a mental disorder.  The National Institute on Drug Abuse has claimed that individuals who abuse substances are twice as likely to suffer from a disorder of some sort.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, close to nine million Americans are currently experiencing dual diagnoses.  The unfortunate truth is, only 7.4 percent of those Americans receive drug and alcohol treatment for both their drug and alcohol addiction and co-occuring mental disorder.  More than half don’t receive any treatment at all.

These statistics give us some insight as to how dual diagnoses are still all too unknown.  More often than not, individuals suffering from substance addiction don’t realize there are drug treatment options out there to care for both issues.  Therefore, it becomes very difficult to treat one issue when another one is still present.

Drug Abuse and Mental Illnesses are Commonly Combined

 

As mentioned above, it’s very common for individuals struggling with substance use to also face some sort of mental disorder.  There are also instances where drugs can commence a mental disorder.  In an example, psychedelic substances (such as LSD, PCP, or mushrooms) have been known to cause schizophrenia in certain individuals.

More commonly, however, the opposite is true – a person with a mental disorder will seek out alcohol and/or other substances to self-medicate which in turn may cause dependence or addiction.  This is not only true for alcohol and street drugs, but also for prescription drugs given to them by their doctor.  Benzodiazepines tend to be the most commonly abused prescription drugs, specifically Xanax.  Xanax treats anxiety disorders and can be highly addictive.  Even those with a prescription from a doctor can fall into dangerous dependence on the drug and experience serious withdrawals after even one week of continued use.

And even if somebody with anxiety doesn’t go to a doctor, there are substances widely available that make people feel more socially calm.  The most notable being alcohol.

Diagnosing and Integrated Treatment

 

In order to properly dual diagnose an individual, they must undergo an integrated screening protocol or a clinical evaluation for drug and alcohol use. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), these individuals who’re admitted into addiction treatment should immediately be screened for both addiction and mental health.  With each problem being assessed at the same time, only then can a solution be worked towards.

It should be noted that treating an addiction and nothing more tends to be less effective than that of treating both an addiction and mental illness.  The reason being – as the statistics above have told us – many individuals who suffer from addiction usually suffer from a mental disorder as well.

Further, individuals who only get treated for one issue generally don’t have the tools to handle the other.   Let’s say someone has recovered from drug addiction, yet, continues to face a large amount of anxiety.  If they do not seek proper medical attention for their anxiety, this can lead them down either of two paths:

  1. Relapse; going back to substances as a means of relieving anxiety.
  2. Absolute confusion; without proper guidance, individuals are still in danger of harming themselves and others (even without drugs) due to the fact that they are unaware of how to control their emotion.

The purpose of integrated drug treatment is to reduce an individual’s use of substances while improving their mental health.  It can be expected that integrated treatment will help one problem in relation to the other.  The goal of dual diagnosis is to let individuals understand the source of their past experiences as a means of discovering how to solve future dilemmas.

Though drug therapy sessions can be expected in addiction treatment, with dual diagnosis, one can expect pharmacotherapy as well.  Along with this, one can expect psychotherapy (or talk therapy) as well.  The purpose of this is to help patients discover the true influences of both their addiction and their mental illness.

Which Treatment is Best for Dual Diagnosis?

 

One of the most prominent ways to treat individuals who’re dual diagnosed is through behavioral interventions. The following are commonly found in treating dual diagnosis:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A means of creating healthier thinking and behavioral patterns for the sake of individuals staying sober. It can be expected that this will work at minimizing problematic beliefs and behaviors.
  • Integrated Group Therapy: A conversation amongst other dual diagnosed individuals that seeks to treat the symptoms of both substance abuse disorders and mental health conditions.
  • Dialectic Behavioral Therapy: Often, substance abuse disorders and addiction go hand-in-hand with self-harming behaviors. This is an effort to diminish that.
  • Individual Psychotherapy: Treats the behaviors often associated with mental health issues and substance abuse.

Due to the fact that everyone has different needs and preferences on how to carry out their treatment, it’s very likely that people will undergo different methods as a means of treating their dual diagnosis.  The only way to properly determine which form of addiction treatment will be most beneficial to you is to speak with a professional substance abuse counselor.

Below, we will look into the options of inpatient treatment and outpatient, however, it is highly recommended you complete an evaluation with a trained mental health professional to figure out which method of treatment will serve your specific circumstance the best.

Inpatient Treatment

 

More often than not, inpatient treatment is recommended for individuals with a dual diagnosis. This is when a person is placed in a residential rehabilitation program where he/she will live under the supervision of professionals.  It was mentioned earlier that individuals in certain environments will react to their addiction or mental health differently.

In an inpatient program, individuals will be in not only a safe environment, but one that’s supervised by professionals.  Dual diagnoses aren’t an easy matter to handle.  Therefore, these professionals along with ongoing support are very much a necessity.

Given, there will be times when the drug and alcohol treatment can feel very intensive.  Dual diagnoses are complex when one is trying to find a solution.  To cure two diseases in one session is to completely change one’s perspective on life and that of which is around them.  With inpatient treatment, individuals will have the opportunity to stay in one place and focus on their dilemma.

With an inpatient treatment, you can expect the following:

  • Daily therapy sessions.
  • The chance to be apart of support groups on a daily basis.
  • A community of a variety of individuals who’re in the same position.
  • The opportunity to receive consistent and professional about substance abuse and mental health.

Outpatient Treatment

 

The difference from an inpatient treatment is an intensive outpatient treatment allows individuals to get the care they need without committing to residency.  Usually taking around 10 weeks, individuals in outpatient treatment are allowed to go about their day-to-day lives if they have important responsibilities; work, school, a family, etc.

You can expect to receive the same kind of counseling and professional help you would from an inpatient treatment, but since you aren’t living in a facility, there’s a larger degree of personal responsibility.  In other words, how seriously you decide to take the treatment is entirely up to your willingness for a change.

Just like the inpatient program, it’s important to have the right motivation.  Individuals shouldn’t be forced into this situation out of their own will.

There’s one vital factor that’s also important to be aware of.  Being that your environment isn’t as controlled, there’s more of a chance to give into substances. Keeping this in mind, it’s essential to have self-control through an outpatient program.  That responsibility is the key to a successful treatment.

With an outpatient treatment, you can expect the following;

  • Group therapy three times a week for three hours a session.
  • The ability to live independently.
  • Peer support, community group, or 12-step program involvement.

If you or anyone you love is suffering from addiction and/or co-occuring mental disorder(s), or would like more information on the topics discussed above, please, give Stonewall Institute Treatment Center a call today at (602) 535-6468 or email us at [email protected].

Change is possible, Stonewall Institute Treatment Center can help you change your life.

Healing Toxic Emotions through Vulnerability in Recovery

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One of the main obstacles to drug and alcohol recovery is the shame associated with substance abuse. A lifetime of addiction can leave behind a wake of regretful actions, damaged relationships, and poor decisions. It can feel overwhelming to face the reality of what life has become, but by sharing your story in Alcoholics Anonymous and other formats, you can move past your shame towards a healthy recovery.

What Is Shame?

Shame is different than guilt. When you feel guilty, you recognize that you did something wrong and act to correct it. Guilt is usually a healthy, motivating emotion. You may say to yourself, “I shouldn’t have done that, but it doesn’t represent who I am.”

Shame is different. It results in negative self-talk such as “I’m so terrible, I can’t believe I did that.” You see your regretful action as a reflection of who you are as a person. Unlike guilt, with shame, you may not try to repair the damage you’ve caused. Instead, you attempt to hide from or ignore the pain. You may disconnect from yourself and from others.

Healthy Shame vs Toxic Shame and Addiction

Believe it or not, not all shame is bad. Shame can serve as a moral compass and a reminder that you are not the all-powerful being you sometimes think you are. Good shame comes in the form of “innate moral shame.” When shame gets out of control, it becomes “internalized shame.” Internalized shame is toxic.

Healthy shame can guide you in the right direction when you have a difficult ethical decision to make. You may lie to your coworker and take a larger percentage of the profits than was agreed upon. The shame you feel for doing this can direct you to be more honest in the future. This type of shame is the foundation of humility and spirituality. Healthy shame can even push you to seek help for addiction when you recognize that substance abuse is the driving force behind your immoral behavior.

But shame isn’t always positive, and this is what makes it such a complicated emotion to understand. It’s internalized shame, or toxic shame, that fuels addictive behaviors. When shame consumes you and makes you feel that you are inherently a bad person, that’s when it can destroy you rather than motivate you towards recovery.

The Destructive Nature of Internalized Shame

Internalized shame makes you feel that you are the problem rather than the decisions you make and the actions you take. Rather than feeling regretful or embarrassed for a short period, you feel like a flawed person. Maybe you even go so far as to feel that you’re not worthy of love. Internalized shame can make you feel inherently defective. At that point, trying to improve yourself is a lost cause. The only way to escape your shame, and yourself, is to use substances to hide from what you’ve become.

Toxic shame is one of the most destructive emotions because it’s all-encompassing and becomes your state of being. Shame is soul sickness at its worst. Internalized shame is at the core of addictive behaviors.

Coping with Toxic Shame Through Substance Abuse

As toxic shame gets worse, you may take every means necessary to isolate yourself from the people who care about you. Distance is the only way to create a separate version of yourself and experience a break from the pain.

What better way to distance yourself than to abuse drugs and alcohol? It’s the easiest, fastest solution. If you’re already genetically predisposed to addiction, the combination of toxic shame and substance can be a lethal one. On one end you have the shame pushing you to seek something outside of yourself in order to feel okay. This can come in the form of money, power, sex, drugs or alcohol. Although these behaviors provide a momentary escape, they only add to the shame and regret after the buzz wears off.

The disease of addiction can take what would have been a healthy shame and turn it into toxic shame. This is especially true with young addicts, especially if their entire adult life has been consumed by addiction. Addiction is their identity. It can lead to a compulsive cycle that fuels more shame and more addictive behavior.

The Healing Power of Vulnerability

Healing toxic shame can be a painful process, but it’s an essential part of drug and alcohol recovery. If you’ve been using substances to escape from your feelings of shame, healing can be especially difficult. You’ll need to completely reverse your relationship with shame and meet it head-on.

It’s okay to recognize the shame that you feel for the decisions you’ve made. Healing begins when you admit that your shame doesn’t represent who you are as a person. Only then can you move forward in recovery.

Shame thrives when you’re in isolation. To beat it, you’re going to need to connect with others and share your story. By externalizing your shame and being vulnerable in front of people you trust, you can begin to recover. Psychologist Brene Brown is a massive proponent of the power of vulnerability to transform your life and become a leader in your community. Vulnerability is also an essential part of healing shame. When you trust someone to accept you for all your flaws you can start to change the negative beliefs you have about yourself.

Alcoholics Anonymous: Healing through Human Connection

Alcoholics Anonymous is a 12-step recovery program that works. Why is it so effective for so many people?

It relies on the power of vulnerability and human connection to heal toxic shame. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are full of people who know the shame of addiction all too well. You can feel safe to share your experience, get feedback, and start to disconnect from the shame that you’ve identified with for so long.

With that being said, Alcoholics Anonymous isn’t for everyone. If you don’t feel comfortable speaking to a group of people you’ve only recently met, the same power of vulnerability can be experienced by sharing with another support group, mentor or therapist. For most recovering addicts, however, Alcoholics Anonymous is the most effective route to take.

Other recovering addicts will need more than just Alcoholics Anonymous. Inpatient and intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment programs can provide a solid foundation for addiction recovery.

Stonewall Institute Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Phoenix, Arizona provides services for drug and alcohol dependency and co-occurring issues. Services are delivered in a private upscale outpatient treatment setting using evidence-based treatment methods. Our program allows clients to sustain life responsibilities while providing an intensive treatment environment 3 evenings per week for 10 weeks. Clients in our Drug and Alcohol Treatment program will learn about underlying issues that contribute to substance dependence and obtain the vital skills necessary to sustain long-term sobriety and recovery.

If you or someone you love is struggling with substance abuse, Stonewall Institute Treatment Center is available to answer any questions you may have. Call us today at 602-535 6468 or email us at [email protected].

Cocaine Addiction: Side Effects and Withdrawals

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Cocaine is powerfully addictive. It’s a stimulant that, like many drugs, circulated among medical professionals well before it reached the general population. In 1884, William Stewart Halsted became the first physician to use cocaine as an anesthetic in surgery, however, Halsted also liked to use cocaine to enhance his performance in the operating theatre. He soon became the first cocaine-addicted physician on record. Sigmund Freud, the famous psychiatrist, was also a prevalent cocaine abuser. Cocaine is attractive to intellectuals and hard-partying weekend warriors alike because of its cognitive-enhancing and dopamine-boosting effects. This is also why this substance has a high potential for addiction and dependence.

Receiving treatment for cocaine addiction is crucial, and the earlier it’s treated the better.  Stonewall Institute Treatment Center’s 10-Week Intensive Outpatient Program is designed to not only treat cocaine addiction itself, but to also provide the tools, structure, guidance, and support that will help maintain long-term sobriety.

 

What Is Cocaine?

Cocaine is a stimulant narcotic that’s used almost exclusively as a recreational drug. Cocaine is now only occasionally used in surgery as a topical anesthetic or for controlling bleeding during nasal surgery.

Cocaine is made from the leaves of the cocoa plant. Indigenous cultures in South America chew the leaves for their energizing effects. Bolivian and Peruvian cultures continue to chew cocoa leaves in high volumes. In Bolivia, an estimated one-third of the population chews cocoa leaves. In leaf form, the intoxicating effects are milder while the cognitive-enhancing effects, like improved mental clarity, are longer lasting.

Once cocaine is extracted from the leaves, it becomes significantly more potent. Both forms are addictive, but pure extracted cocaine holds a higher risk for addiction and dependence. The cocaine that hits the streets is rarely pure cocaine by the time it reaches consumers. Cocaine is often mixed with cornstarch, sugar, or quinine to increase profits. Because you never know what you’re going to get when you buy cocaine on the street, it adds another layer of health risk. Sharing straws or dollar bills to snort cocaine can increase the risk of catching hepatitis C. Snorting cocaine can cause abrasions in the nasal cavity that allows bloodborne pathogens to spread.

 

How Cocaine Works In The Brain

Cocaine affects the brain through a complex interaction of various neurotransmitters and proteins. The two neurotransmitters that cocaine most strongly influences are serotonin and dopamine. Most of the research on cocaine has been focused on its impact on dopamine transmission, as this is the area of the brain that seems to be most strongly affected. Cocaine blocks the function of the dopamine transporter protein. This transporter protein is responsible for removing dopamine from where it can remain active. As a result, the effects of dopamine increase, and the user feels high.  Because of this, many users will ignore the fact that they have a serious drug problem.

At the same time that cocaine makes you feel good by increasing dopamine activity, it improves cognition through a variety of functions, most notably by boosting levels of the protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF is a protein that’s critical for memory and learning. There are plenty of safer ways to increase BDNF, including exercise, yoga, meditation, sleep, and a healthy social life.

 

Cocaine Addiction: Risks and Side Effects

After only a short period of use, cocaine has a high rate of addiction. The same reason that scientists like Sigmund Freud and William Stewart Halsted loved cocaine is the same reason that makes it so addictive. The mechanism of action that boosts BDNF is also behind its addictive qualities. Without going into too much detail, cocaine enhances your sensitivity to experiencing the reward that comes from getting a hit of dopamine or serotonin.

The positive effects of cocaine include intense happy feelings of euphoria and increased energy. Along with these effects come a long list of dangerous risks and harmful side effects.

Medical professionals consider cocaine to be the perfect “heart attack drug” because it creates the perfect storm for cardiovascular issues. Large doses of cocaine can result in the stiffening of the walls of the arteries, high blood pressure, irregular and rapid heart rate, and myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Other side effects can include paranoia, psychosis, panic attacks, cognitive impairments, mood swings, and dramatic changes in personality.

Long-term risk factors for cocaine abuse include increased body temperature and the development of a manic-like condition similar to amphetamine-induced schizophrenia. These episodes are characterized by severe paranoia, aggression, confusion, and hallucinating the feeling of bugs crawling under the skin, also known as “coke bugs.”

Cocaine addicts can also exhibit rapid weight loss, decreased appetite, weakened immune system, difficulty managing relationships, and increased thoughts of suicide. Because of this life-threatening disease, it’s vital to seek professional substance abuse treatment as soon as possible.

 

Cocaine Withdrawal

One of the reasons why cocaine is so addictive is because its withdrawal effects come on fast. The crash that cocaine users experience at the end of a night of partying is a harsh reminder of withdrawals that await them if they try to get off the drug.

The immediate effects involved with cocaine withdrawal include pounding headaches, anxiety, and insomnia. The headaches are largely due to the dramatic changes that cocaine has on the cardiovascular system. As the walls of the arteries begin to relax and blood pressure decreases, it can be a challenge for the blood vessels in the head to adjust.

As you commit to staying off the drug, all of the negative side effects of cocaine use can get amplified. Long-term cocaine withdrawal symptoms include paranoia, anxiety, mood swings, depression, irritability, exhaustion, insomnia, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and intense cravings.

The “coke bugs” can return during withdrawals as well. Some users report symptoms similar to schizophrenia and the feeling that their mind is disconnected from themselves. Severe symptoms like these can last from weeks to months depending on the depth of the addiction. The intensity of cocaine withdrawals forces many users to turn to other substances like alcohol and marijuana to help cope with withdrawals and cravings.

 

Deciding to get clean from cocaine is an encouraging step forward in the path towards healing and recovery. The next step is to complete an alcohol and drug evaluation so it can be determined exactly which course of treatment will best suit your needs.  If you or someone you know needs advice about drug or alcohol addiction, feel free to contact Stonewall Institute Treatment Center at 602-535 6468 or email us at [email protected].  We’re here to help.

Affordable Drug Rehab AZ

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Stonewall Institute provides affordable drug treatment for anyone interested in getting help for drug abuse. This Arizona drug rehab offers an Intensive Outpatient Program in an upscale office environment where clients learn coping skills and relapse prevention in a comfortable and respectful manner. Call at 602-535-6468 now for a complete drug and alcohol assessment and check out the website at www.stonewallinstitute.com.

Arizona’s Best Drug Counseling – Kyle Penniman

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Kyle Penniman offers the best drug counseling in Arizona at Stonewall Institute. No other Arizona drug rehab offers the kind of personal attention offered by Mr. Penniman. Kyle Penniman is recognized as one of Arizona’s top Drug and Alcohol Counselors with over 17 years of clinical experience. When you need to find someone in recovery from drug and alcohol abuse who understands what you are going through, call Kyle Penniman at 602-535-6468 or visit the website at www.stonewallinstitute.com.

Treatment for Drug Addiction Arizona

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Stonewall Institute provides the best Arizona treatment for drug addiction.  This Arizona drug rehab treats addiction to all sorts of substances, including marijuana dependence, alcohol abuse, cocaine addiction, methamphetamine addiction, designer drugs dependency, heroin addiction or other opioid addictions and prescription medication abuse.  Our drug counselors are highly trained to support your struggles with sobriety.  Call today to make an appointment at 602-535-6468 for a complete clinical evaluation for substance abuse and visit our website at www.stonewallinstitute.com.

Arizona Treatment for Cocaine Addiction

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Stonewall Institute treats cocaine addiction with understanding and empathy.  Our Arizona drug rehab offers a drug treatment program different from others in the state.  You don’t need to pay thousands of dollars for a 28-day residential program.  Our Intensive Outpatient Program focuses on the individual and allows us to address real-life issues and triggers as they occur.  Our substance abuse counselors are highly trained.  All groups are facilitated by an addiction specialist.  Cocaine addiction doesn’t have to control your life.  Call us today at 602-535-6468 and visit our website at www.stonewallinstitute.com.